14 Days 13 Nights Botswana Wildlife Breakaway Safari

This is a fascinating breakaway safari which takes you to the wilderness of Botswana for game viewing, birding, game drives and relaxation as you break away from your daily activities. You will visit the above mentioned parks and reserves and will travel with an experienced guide/driver in a 4x4 customized safari land cruiser and spend the nights in tented camps.

Day 1: Victoria Falls - Chobe National Park, Botswana A morning departure takes you from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe into Botswana. You will cross the Zimbabwean border and make your way to Chobe Safari Lodge on the Chobe River. Once you have reached the lodge you will set up camp and enjoy the rest of the afternoon on a sunset cruise on the Chobe River. Here you can watch elephants, hippos, crocodiles and a variety of birds and more without having to reach for our binoculars; as you will be close enough for close-up photographs.

Chobe National Park is probably best known for its spectacular elephant population which is nearing close to 50,000 elephants. Most of them are probably part of the largest continuous surviving elephant population on Earth. Elephants living here are Kalahari elephants, the largest in size of all known elephant populations. Yet they are characterized by rather brittle ivory and short tusks, perhaps due to calcium deficiency in the soils. Damage caused by the high numbers of elephants is rife in some areas.

Lunch, dinner and overnight at a tented camp

Day 2: Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana You will need to get up very early, as today is the longest drive of the safari. You will head south to Planet Baobab and stop at the Makgadikgadi Pans to have a closer look. If the weather conditions allow, you will drive onto the Pans. After appreciating the wide-open, uninhabited spaces under the endless canopy of blue sky, you will step off for your final stop of the day, Planet Baobab. The rest of the afternoon will be spent on a Bush Walk with the local guide, learning about the history, flora and fauna of the area and use of various plants in traditional life. You will also visit a nearby water hole for sundowners.

The Makgadikgadi Pans, the world's largest salt pans, are the most visible remnants of a super lake that was formed more than five million years ago. The lake was once 100 feet deep and covered a massive area of 30, 888² miles, but as recently as 10,000 years ago, climatic shifts started to dry up Lake Makgadikgadi. Further evaporation turned the lake into large pans with a surface glistening with salt. Today The Makgadikgadi provides one of the most dramatic African safari travel experiences.

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 3: Maun and the Khwai River, Botswana After breakfast, you will head off for Maun and onto a private concession and Mankwe Bush Lodge. Once you have set up camp, you will go on a night game drive in the concession. This area lies between Moremi and Chobe and you will have the opportunity to spot a variety of nocturnal animals.

Maun is the main entry point to the Okavango delta, situated at the gateway to the Delta and Moremi Game Reserve. Maun is the tourism capital of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland. It is also the headquarters of countless safari and air-charter operations whose signs and offices dot almost every intersection, particularly towards the airport.

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 4: Khwai River, BotswanaToday you will spend a full day in the wilderness on game drives. Departing after breakfast, you will use the 4x4 vehicle and drive through the wilderness area of the Khwai region spotting a variety of game that frequent this region that borders Moremi and Chobe. Picnic-lunch will be in the wilderness area. With some luck you will see many animal species that are at home in this area and maybe even a few members of the Big Five.

Khwai River is a river in Northern Botswana which extends from the Okavango River and forms part of the Northern border of Moremi Game Reserve. On the North Gate of Moremi, is the BaBugkakhwe village of Khwai. River Khwai is not far from the village of Khwai.

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 5: Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana After having explored the Khwai area you will now head into the famous Moremi Game Reserve known as one of the most beautiful and varied reserves in Africa with an unprecedented concentration of wildlife. The full day is spent in the unspoiled nature of the Moremi Game Reserve.

Moremi Game Reserve is a National Park in Botswana which rests on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta Moremi was designated as a Game Reserve, and not a National Park, since when it was created. The BaSarwa or Bushmen that lived there were supposed to be allowed to stay in the reserve. In the 1960s, the government changed its mind and burned the Bushmen village and forced the villagers to move outside the park. They relocated on the other side of the Khwai River and named their new village Khwai. Within the village there is still a strong distrust towards the national government as there has been talk about moving the village once again.

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 6: Maun, Botswana After your game experience, you will head back to Maun where you will have the option of a scenic flight over the Delta or can spend the afternoon at leisure relaxing next to the pool at the camp.

Regular supplies of almost everything can be bought in Maun, and the town boasts several good filling stations, shopping centers, a choice of hotels and lodges as well as car and four-wheel-drive vehicle hire. The Maun Airport, which was officially opened in 1996 after extensive renovations, is - if one counts the light aircraft charters to the various Delta camps - one of the busiest airports in Southern Africa.

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 7 & 8: Maun – Okavango Delta, Botswana Early in the morning you will leave Maun and drive to the Western Delta and onto Etsha 13. From there you will head into the largest inland delta in the world, another highlight of Botswana, the Okavango Delta. You will be transferred to the camp in the Delta where you will spend the next two nights listening to the sounds of the wilderness. Unlike other Deltas in the world, it flows into the Kalahari Desert without reaching the coast, which makes it unique. You will float in Mokoros through the thick vegetation of the Delta discovering a variety of birds and wildlife and will stop at a secluded island to take a 1½ hour guided walk hoping to spot elephants, waterbuck or other animals living in this water filled paradise.

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is the world's largest inland delta and is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea. The Moremi Game Reserve, a National Park, spreads across the eastern side of the delta.

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 9 & 10: Mahangu National Park and Popa Falls, Namibia After breakfast, you will leave the lush verdant wetlands of the Delta, Botswana and enter Namibia. En route you will visit the Tsodilo Hills and take a short walk to view the rock paintings. You will then make your way to Mahangu Lodge where you will spend the night. The next morning you can go on a game drive in Mahango National Park which lies on the western banks of the Okavango River and is one of Namibia's most captivating and species-rich conservation areas. Main features of the Mahango are enormous baobab trees, flood plains with large herds of elephant, buffalo and red lechwe. After lunch at the Popa Falls, you will head back to the park for an afternoon game drive, hoping to spot some of the parks highlights.

The Okavango River is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for 1,600 km (1,000 miles). It begins in Angola, where it is known as the Cubango River. Further south it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia, and then flows into Botswana, draining into the Moremi Game Reserve. Before it enters Botswana, the river drops four meters, across the full 1.2 km-width of the river, in a series of rapids known as Popa Falls, visible when the river is low, as during the dry season.

All meals and overnight at a lodge

Day 11 & 12: Kwando River and Mudumu National Park, Namibia After breakfast, you will drive along the Caprivi Strip to your camp on the Kwando River. En-route you will spend the afternoon on a game drive through Susuwe National Park, before heading to your overnight camp on the Kwando River. The rest of the day you can relax and use the facilities of the camp.

On day 12 you will make your way to Mudumu National Park, which has the Kwando river as its western border and the Linyati swamp to the South. In contrast to the rest of Namibia, the area is lush with riverine forest, marshes, dense Savannah and mopane woodland.

The Cuando River (alternatively spelled Kwando) is a river in south-central Africa also called the Linyanti River and the Chobe River in its lower section before it flows into the Zambezi River. The Cuando rises in the central plateau of Angola on the slopes of Mount Tembo thence flowing southeast along the Zambian border. Along this reach it flows in a maze of channels in a swampy corridor. As with all rivers in south-central Africa its flow varies enormously between the rainy season when it floods and may be several kilometers wide, and the dry season when it may disappear into marshes. In years when the Okavango experiences a good flood some of the water escapes east along the normally dry channel of the Magwekwana River into the Linyanti Swamp, thus entering the Zambezi basin. Otherwise the Okavango basin has no outlet.

The Mudumu National Park is a park in Namibia, created in extensive landscaped savannah, mopane woodlands, and marsh on the eastern shore of the Cuando River. Many animals can be found in the park including Sitatunga, red lechwe, as well as elephants, buffalo, kudu, impala, roan antelope, and Burchell's zebra. Its waterways are inhabited by spotted-necked otter, hippo, tiger fish, and crocodile. Along the river there are extensive floodplains, floating papyrus swamps and lush riverine forest. Away from the river one finds mixed mopane and teak woodlands, open grasslands and typical African savannah. The birdlife here is a big attraction with 430 species seen – Coppery-tailed Coucal, Slaty Egret, Greater Swamp Warbler, Swamp Boubou and Brown Firefinch are some of the resident species. In summer, numbers are boosted by the tremendous amount of migratory species including flocks of colorful Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Copper Sunbird, Pennant-winged Nightjar and Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah. There is one private lodge in the Park - Lianshulu Lodge.

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 13: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe After breakfast you will leave Namibia and return where you started this trip – Victoria Falls. You will visit the Victoria Falls and the rest of the day is spent at leisure or taking part in optional activities like white water rafting, bungee jumping etc. (all at own expense)

Victoria Falls is the most spectacular of the 7 natural wonders of the world. It is the world's largest sheet of falling water. The town of Victoria Falls is situated on a National Park. The falls offer an unrivalled choice of activities and high adrenalin and heart pumping activities to suit all individuals and age groups. Some activities that you can enjoy include sunset boat cruises suitable for the family, game viewing and bird watching activities, canoeing safaris, white water rafting, bungi jumping, boat paddling, elephant riding safaris, day and night game viewing, walking with lions, helicopter tours amongst others. However, some activities are restricted to children below 15 years of age, such as, white water rafting, bungi jumping, walking with lions and game viewing walks. These tours are only offered to children over 15 years of age as well as adults

All meals and overnight at a tented camp

Day 14: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – End of Tour Depending on your departure time, you will be taken to Victoria Falls Airport for your international flight.

The Victoria Falls are considered by some to be among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European recorded to view the Victoria Falls - which he did from what is now known as 'Livingstone Island' in Zambia, the only land accessible in the middle of the falls. David Livingstone gave the falls the name 'Victoria Falls' in honor of his Queen.